Queen Elizabeth II Gives Camilla New Title for Anniversary | TIME.com Follow @TIMENewsfeed Queen Elizabeth II granted 64-year-old Camilla Parker Bowles, wife of her son Prince Charles, the highest female rank in the Royal Victorian Order to honor Camilla on her seventh wedding anniversary. She is now a Dame Grand Cross. The Queen has the sole right to bestow ranks to individuals who serve her or the monarchy. (PHOTOS: An Album of British Royal Weddings ) The thought of Camilla working her way so strongly into the hearts of either the English people or the monarch once seemed far-fetched. Camilla was, at times, at least partially blamed for breaking up Charles and Princess Diana and was less than admired when she married Charles. The second marriage for Charles put the monarchy in a conundrum of what title to give Camilla, still not referred to as Princess of Wales out of respect for Diana. But as Camilla has proved a more-than-capable royal, the public has widely accepted her. The Duchess of Cornwall has represented the monarch and Prince Charles hundreds of times in the past seven years in public events both at home and abroad.

The newest Dame Grand Cross was recently seen at a London event with the Queen and the Duchess of Cambridge (we once knew her as Kate Middleton), surely a powerful royal trio. And they all have the titles to back it up. Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles Marriage Profile -- The Marriage of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles Updated February 10, 2016. News Update: 4/04/05: Due to the funeral of Pope John Paul II on April 8, 2005, the Prince and Camilla postponed their wedding so that Prince Charles could represent his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, at the funeral. Born: Prince Charles, Prince of Wales: November 14, 1948 at Buckingham Palace. Camilla Rosemary Shand Parker Bowles: July 17, 1947 in London and educated in London, Switzerland, and France. How Camilla and Charles Met: Charles and Camilla met in 1970 at a polo match near Windsor. They were introduced to one another by an old girlfriend, Lucia Santa Cruz.

A couple for a time before they married others, their relationship has been described as a 35-year love affair and the triumph of first love. Proposal and Engagement: The 200 year old Royal Marriages Act requires a royal couple to receive the formal approval of the bridegroom's mother, which can only be granted after she has consulted with the prime minister. After receiving this approval, Charles proposed on bended knee and gave Camilla a royal family heirloom as an engagement ring. continue reading below our video 5 Most Common Signs of a Doomed Relationship The ring is a platinum, classic design band with a square-cut central diamond and three diamond baguettes on either side. The engagement was announced on 2/10/05. Wedding Date and Ceremony: Charles and Camilla were married on April 9, 2005. It was a civil ceremony at Guildhall in Windsor, followed by a blessing by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The reception was at the castle's state apartments. More Details about the Wedding The royal term for a best man is "supporter" and although it is tradition for an heir to the throne to have two supporters, there was not a best man at the wedding ceremony.

Saying it was not a snub, the Queen did not attend the civil wedding to help keep the wedding low key. Wedding Rings: Although there wasn't many commemorative royal wedding items sold, a copy of Camilla's ring was made available through WH Smith. In exchanging Welsh gold wedding rings, Prince Charles and Camilla honored a royal tradition started in 1923 by the Queen Mother Elizabeth. Wedding Attire: Designer Robinson Valentine was asked to design Camilla's wedding outfit. Philip Treacy was reportedly hired to design her hat. Anglican Church Concerns: The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams stated on 2/10/05, "These arrangements have my strong support and are consistent with Church of England guidelines concerning remarriage, which the Prince of Wales fully accepts as a committed Anglican and as prospective Supreme Governor of the Church of England." However, there are those that claimed the royal couple couldn't marry anywhere but at a church under a section of the 1836 Marriage Act. Honeymoon: Charles and Camilla honeymooned at a Scottish hunting lodge, Birkhall, on the Balmoral estate beside the River Dee near Aberdeen. Previous Marriages Prince Charles married Diana Spencer at St.

Paul's Cathedral on July 29, 1981. They had 3,500 invited guests at their wedding. They were divorced on August 28, 1996. Lady Diana was born on July 1, 1961 in Sandringham, Norfolk, England. She died in a car accident in Paris, France on August 31, 1997. Camilla married Andrew Parker Bowles in July, 1973. They divorced on March 3, 1995. HRH Prince William of Wales born on June 21, 1982. Mother, Diana. HRH Prince Henry of Wales (Harry) born on September 15, 1984. Mother, Diana. Camilla Parker Bowles: Tom Parker Bowles was born on December 18, 1974. Father, Andrew. He is the godson of the Prince of Wales. Tom, a food writer, married Sara Buys, a fashion journalist, on September 10, 2005. More on their wedding . Laura was born in 1979. Father, Andrew.

Residence: Charles and Camilla lived together for more than a year at Clarence House in London, the Prince's official residence. Charles also has an organic farm, Highgrove Estate, in the Cotwolds in Gloucestershire. Titles: Although originally announced that Camilla would receive the title of Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cornwall and if Charles becomes King, her title is Her Royal Highness Princess Consort and that she would not be Queen, the Constitutional Affairs Minister Christopher Leslie has stated that when the Prince of Wales becomes King, Camilla Parker Bowles would automatically become Queen. Hobbies & Occupations: Charles: horses, hunting, art, published writer. Camilla: watercolour painting and hunting. They share a love of horses. Miscellaneous: The royal invitation to the wedding was sent to some 800 guests. The guests were asked to not use cell phones or cameras and the couple has asked for no wedding gifts. Henry VIII was the first divorced man to be king. Charles would be the first king married to a divorcee. King Edward VIII had to abdicate the throne to marry Mrs. Wallis Simpson.

Camilla Parker Bowles is the great-granddaughter of Alice Keppel who was the royal mistress of Edward VII, the great-great-grandfather of the Prince of Wales. Other Royal wives Who Were Not Queens: Sophia Dorothea of Celle married to George I. Caroline of Brunswick married to George IV. Source: Guardian The Queen Mother did not approve of Charles' relationship with Camilla and in 1995 she banned Camilla from the royal residences. Camilla will not use the official title of Princess of Wales because of the strong feelings many have toward Diana. Camilla Parker Bowles’ Title As ‘Queen Consort’ When Prince Charles Becomes King Is Fine With Most Brits Camilla Parker Bowles’ Title As ‘Queen Consort’ When Prince Charles Becomes King Is Fine With Most Brits June 12, 2014 Camilla Parker Bowles’ Title As ‘Queen Consort’ When Prince Charles Becomes King Is Fine With Most Brits Heather Tooley Camilla Parker Bowles taking on the title of “queen consort” when Prince Charles inherits the throne from is mother, Queen Elizabeth, is fine with most Brits.

A poll byYouGov reveals that people prefer that the Duchess of Cornwall be given a higher title than Princess Diana did when she became the Princess of Wales, IBTimes.uk.com reports . Results show that 53 percent of those in the poll want Camilla to fulfill the traditional role and 32 percent prefer she takes a lesser role “out of sensitivity to Diana, the Princess of Wales.” The poll was split between men and women on what they want when it comes to Parker Bowles in the royal family. More women are against to the duchess taking on the queen consort title; 38 percent of them feel Prince Charles’ wife should take a lesser title. 27 percent of men approve of Camilla becoming queen consort. The poll also shows that those over the age of 60 are more hesitant calling Camilla queen. They made up 41 percent of the YouGov poll favoring a lesser title. Last week the duchess sat with Prince Charles during the state opening of parliament for the second time.

She also appeared with the future king for the 70th anniversary of D-Day celebrations in France Royal Central reports that Camilla Parker Bowles title of “queen consort” would be well preferred over “princess consort.” The news site further says this about Camilla’s future royal title: “By law, Camilla will automatically take the title of “Her Majesty The Queen” as soon as Prince Charles becomes King. The proposed title of Princess Consort has never been used in Britain before and has little precedent elsewhere in the world. “An act of parliament would be required to reduce Camilla’s title from Queen to Princess Consort and many warn such a move could create a dangerous precedent for future use.” Camilla’s appeal among the British has grown substantially since Princess Diana’s death. She actually is the Princess of Wales, but out of respect and deference to Diana, she prefers to be known as the Duchess of Cornwall, and has since 2005. If Prince Charles succeeds his mother on the British throne as “King Charles,” Camilla will be queen. She’s often at Charles’ side at royal functions they attend. The British people are, for the most part, accepting of Charles and Camilla as a couple.

An Inquisitr article reported on Queen Elizabeth handing extra royal duties over to Prince Charles . This is believed to prepare him even more to be England’s future king. How do you feel about Camilla Parker Bowles having a higher title as queen consort? Will Prince Charles Risk Making Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, His Queen? Will Prince Charles Risk Making Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, His Queen? On 12/9/15 at 4:35 AM 12/18/15 In the Magazine Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, arrives for a service of commemoration for troops who were stationed in Afghanistan in London, England on March 13. Chris Jackson/Getty World England Prince Charles British Royal Family The woman married to the heir to the British throne enters the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre in a south London suburb via the fire escape. Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall—she was Camilla Parker Bowles until she married Prince Charles in 2005—doesn’t want to draw attention to the location of the center by going through the front door.

This choice of entrance keeps photographers who might be waiting for her largely out of sight to passersby and helps preserve the safe unremarkableness of the building, which is vital because the women inside do not want their abusers to find them. The duchess begins her visit. Each time a member of staff or a victim of sexual violence is introduced to her—there are about 30 women, both victims and helpers–she leans forward, making the interaction a little more intimate than most handshakes between commoners and royalty. The duchess, who is wearing a sober blue-gray suit with two delicate dragonfly brooches on one lapel, does not appear to be unsettled by the rings in the noses of some of the women she is meeting or by the tattoos some of them display on their arms. Nor does she does seem to mind that most of the women don’t curtsy or address her as “ma’am,” as royal protocol demands. Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, are given cupcakes with their picture on them during a visit to the National Anzac Centre in Albany, Australia on November 14.

Tracey Nearmy/EPA Try Newsweek for only $1.25 per week Located in Croydon, the center provides victims with long-term counseling to help “turn them from a victim to a survivor.” The duchess first visited the center in 2009 following a request from Chief Executive Yvonne Traynor. “A lot of celebrities and royals won’t touch sexual abuse with a barge pole because it is so hard-hitting,” says Traynor. “But she is not like that. She immediately put everyone at their ease, didn’t flinch and was not patronizing or pitying.” Since 2009, the duchess has visited many other rape centers around the U.K. and on her trips abroad. “She is one of us, an ordinary person who has been thrust into the limelight,” says Traynor. “She even carries her own money.” The affection British people like Traynor increasingly feel for Camilla—particularly because of her ability to come across as being of the people rather than of the ruling elite—reflects a dramatic turnaround in the way the British public feels about the woman who was reportedly involved with Charles when he was married to Princess Diana.

In a BBC television interview broadcast in November 1995, the princess of Wales publicly aired her feelings about Camilla, without naming her. “There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded,” the princess said. Try recovering from that sort of public put-down, not least when it is delivered by a beautiful, vulnerable-seeming princess whose huge popularity only grew with her death in a car accident in 1997. Related: Why Do Americans Fawn Over British Royalty? But 10 years into Camilla’s marriage to Charles, the British public’s attitude to her has softened. Whether it has softened enough for her husband to dare make the woman he loves his queen is unclear. People close to the royal family say it has long been his greatest wish that should he become king, Camilla should be crowned alongside him, a move that would seal her journey from maligned mistress to fully accepted partner in life. Charles “hopes the public will eventually come round,” says a close royal contact. There may not be a huge amount of time for that to happen. Charles’s mother, Queen Elizabeth, will be 90 next year. She appears in good health, but she is almost certainly in her twilight.

Observers are increasingly talking about what role Camilla will take in the event Charles becomes king. Camilla Duchess of Cornwall and Queen Elizabeth II attend a horse whispering demonstration by Monty Roberts at the Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace in London on October 21. Queen Elizabeth is 89, so it is reasonable to wonder how long it will be before Charles becomes king and must decide on what title to give his wife. Rex Features/AP Charles knows that he may not get his wish. A royal insider confides to Newsweek that Charles is beginning to accept that the British public has not yet fully accepted her. A poll by YouGov released ahead of Charles and Camilla’s 10th wedding anniversary in April 2015 revealed that 35 percent of those contacted said they did not want Camilla to be queen. While 49 percent said they were in favor, there is no constitutional document that states what the wife of a king must be called. The matter is decided by royal prerogative rather than Parliament; in other words, King Charles would have the sole authority over whether his wife would be known as Queen Camilla.

Legally, Camilla would automatically become queen if Prince Charles becomes king, but it’s not that simple. A statement from Clarence House, the official London residence of Prince Charles and Camilla, issued on the day they married announced that Camilla would be known as princess consort in the event of Charles’s accession to the throne. That would be fine by Camilla. “The duchess is laid back about it,” says the close contact. “I don’t think she will mind if she is not crowned queen.” Camilla’s nephew, businessman Ben Elliot, says, “She has no ambition to be queen. She just wants to support her husband.” Art historian Roy Strong, who has known Camilla for many years, agrees. “She is not a woman who ever wanted to be queen and by default end up as the king’s wife,” says Strong. “You don’t feel she is a scheming fixer. I don’t think that sort of ambition is in her mind.” Whether Camilla becomes queen will depend in large part on how Britons feel about her relationship with two young men who were 15 and 12 years old when their mother died.

If there was a nationwide feeling stronger than grief in the remarkable days after Diana’s death, it was a shared sense of protectiveness toward the two boys who somehow managed not to cry as they followed their mother’s coffin into Westminster Abbey for her funeral on September 6, 1997. Millions of people around the world were crying. Camilla, wisely and inevitably, stayed out of the public eye as much as she could at the time. Camilla Parker Bowles, left, and Lady Diana Spencer (later Princess Diana) are seen at Ludlow Racecourse in Ludlow, England in Oct. 24, 1980. PA/AP But within months, Diana’s older son made a perhaps unexpectedly adult decision for a teenager trying to cope with such grief. One day in June 1998, less than a year after his mother’s death, William turned up unexpectedly at St. James’s Palace, where he had an apartment. St. James’s, close to Buckingham Palace, is home to both senior and single royals. Princes William and Harry and the Duchess of Cambridge (formerly Kate Middleton), among others, also have their offices there. Camilla was that day visiting Charles in his apartment.

Prince Charles seized the opportunity and asked William if he would see Camilla. The two had never met. The young prince agreed. Charles brought Camilla to William’s apartment, made the introductions and then left. Camilla and William talked for half an hour. It was a potentially explosive encounter and at the very least an extremely stressful one for both parties. When Camilla came out, according to a report in The Sun newspaper, she said: “I need a drink.” William wanted to keep the meeting private, but to his fury it was leaked to the press. In a BBC documentary this past February, Sandy Henney, former press aide to Prince Charles, confirmed how angry Prince William had been when details of the meeting were spilled to the press. Related: Diana: Princess of the World One encounter couldn’t heal the young prince’s wounds, and William agreed to see Camilla again–for tea a couple of times and also for lunch. But it took until February 2001 before he consented to be seen officially with her in public. The carefully choreographed occasion was at a London party to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Britain’s Press Complaints Commission.

William and his father arrived 10 minutes before Camilla, who came with her son, Tom Parker Bowles, and her sister, Annabel Elliot. Charles and William stayed on one side of the room while Camilla stayed on another. Gossip columnists noted this as a significant step forward in the couple’s relationship. An insider tells Newsweek, “Prince Charles knew he couldn’t marry Camilla until his sons felt more comfortable with her and that the public had become aware of that and sometimes despaired of what seemed an interminable wait.” Harry also found bonding with her difficult. Both boys knew only too well that her existence had tortured their much-loved mother. And Camilla knew that memory would probably always act as an emotional barrier between her and Charles’s sons. “To Camilla’s credit, she never tried to replace their mother,” says an insider. Charles’s popularity plummeted after Diana’s death, but by 2002 he was back in public favor, largely because many British people thought he was being a good father. He delayed his longed-for marriage ceremony for another three years, until William and Harry finally came round to the idea.

The young princes released a joint statement prior to the wedding: “We are both very happy for our father and Camilla, and we wish them all the luck in the future.” Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Charles, Prince of Wales and Prince Harry attend the Opening Ceremony of the Invictus Games at Olympic Park in London, England on September 10, 2014. Camera Press/ROTA/Redux Today, the relationship between stepmother and stepsons appears warm but guarded. A person close to the royals says: “She gets on better now with William and Harry, and they are pleased she makes their father happy, but they are not especially close. She doesn’t see a lot of William and Kate, particularly since they moved to their country home, Anmer Hall, in Norfolk. At one time, it was thought the duchess and Kate would bond, but it hasn’t happened.

William also always makes it clear that Camilla is the wife of his father, but not a stepgrandmother to his children, and that Prince George and his sister Princess Charlotte have two grandfathers, but only one grandmother.” Happily for Camilla, George’s and Charlotte’s great-grandmother seems to have fully accepted her daughter-in-law. On a recent afternoon, I joined the duchess at an event held at Buckingham Palace Royal Mews by the Brooke, a charity that helps care for working horses, donkeys and mules. Monty Roberts, 80, a well-known American horse whisperer and ambassador for the charity, demonstrated his innovative techniques with a 5-year-old horse that had had minimal contact with people, never worn a saddle or been ridden, to show how she could be trained in 20 minutes to accept a rider, rather than the usual six weeks. The duchess, who is patron of the charity, shares Roberts’s passion to bring nonviolent training to the equine world. A surprise visitor turned up–the queen, taking a break from the state visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping. Camilla kissed her mother-in-law on both cheeks and then curtsied.

Both women sat transfixed as Roberts made clucking and kissing sounds; he waved his hands and a long stick with a plastic bag on the end. The horse responded by turning one way, then another and coming to Roberts to be stroked, and then Roberts put a saddle and stirrups on it. Finally, one member of his team mounted and rode the horse round the ring. Throughout, the queen and the woman who, in the words of Strong, the art historian, has made the queen’s oldest child “less on edge and more confident in himself” chatted happily and asked Roberts numerous questions. But it is with her own family that Camilla is most like the sort of person who carries her own money. Camilla and her ex-husband, former Brigadier Andrew Parker Bowles, share two married children: Laura Lopes, who has a daughter, Eliza, 7, and twins Gus and Louis, 6; and Tom, who has a daughter, Lola, 8, and son, Freddy, 5. Tom is a food writer and television presenter. Laura is an art curator. Lt. Col.

Andrew Parker-Bowles of the Blues and Royals, his wife Camilla, son Tom, 9 (holding his fathers OBE), and daughter Laura, 5, pose for a portrait on February 21, 1984. Topham/PA/TopFoto Although the duchess often shares weekends with Charles at Highgrove House, his country home in Gloucestershire, she also maintains the Parker Bowles family’s 18th-century manor, Middlewich House, in neighboring Wiltshire. There her grandchildren can run around freely and watch TV shows Charles might not approve of. He is notoriously fussy and doesn’t like his things being knocked over, although he regularly travels to join her for dinner on Saturday evenings. But while the Parker Bowles family members may seem middle class compared with the family Camilla has married into, they’re decidedly not. Tom, like his father, is part of the line of succession to the earldom of Macclesfield. Both of Laura’s husband’s grandfathers were peers of the British realm. Camilla is the great-granddaughter of Alice Keppel, mistress of Edward VII.

Camilla came out a s a debutante in 1965, and an inheritance of 500,000 pounds from a member of her mother’s family has meant she has never needed to work. Her first wedding, in 1973, was described in the press as the "society wedding of the year." Her future mother-in-law, the queen, was a guest. Related: Raising a Baby in the New Royal Age But once you meet the duchess, you understand what Traynor means about Camilla being “one of us.” She has a natural warmth, is down to earth and is clearly tenacious. (She and Charles met in 1971 when she was 23 and Charles a year younger; there can’t be many women who would wait more than 40 years to marry the man they love.) Turning up, smiling, accepting flowers, shaking hands and supporting various charities is an intrinsic part of life for the wife of a senior royal. But the duchess won’t get involved in a charity unless she has thoroughly researched it and feels she can be useful.

Camilla is obviously stretching herself to the full: At an age when most people have retired or are close to retiring, she is patron or president of 75 organizations. The duchess is particularly keen on charities that cover literacy, domestic violence, animal welfare and sick children. She has written that one of her roles is to “shine a light on the violence hiding in the dark corners of our society.” Not all royals are quite so willing to venture into the uglier parts of the world they live in. I ask her if the brutal stories she hears linger after she visits places like the counseling center in Croydon. “I think about them a great deal, and they stay at the back of my mind all the time,” she replies. “It is often quite harrowing. I do my best to help. If you mind a lot about certain things, as I do, it is easy for me to do as much as I can.” Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, poses for a photograph with the Royal Australian Corps of Military Police at the Victoria Barracks in Sydney, Australia on November 12.

Camilla has years of practice for what her life will be like when Charles takes the throne: a calendar clogged with good works and photos with strangers. William West/EPA In 1997, the year Diana died, Camilla became patron of a charity—Britain’s National Osteoporosis Society—for the first time. A former member of the staff says: “It was the start of carefully chosen public appearances that would hopefully show her in an increasingly good light.” The duchess chose this particular charity for her first move into a very traditional royal role because her mother and grandmother had both succumbed to the painful, incurable and inherited illness. As the years passed after Diana’s death, Camilla became an increasingly public figure, even though those Britons reluctant to relinquish the fantasy of the Charles and Diana fairy-tale romance still saw her as the woman who had broken up a happy marriage. Strong says she is much better at her public duties than she was: “At first she was a bundle of nerves, but recently she’s grown in assurance.” Like it or not, Camilla must compete with Diana’s starry legacy of good works, as well as in her role as the heir to the throne’s wife.

At a time when many people were afraid to touch people with HIV or AIDS, Diana made sure to be photographed shaking hands—ungloved—with people who had AIDS. She campaigned for an international ban of land mines and was pictured holding on her lap a 13-year-old Angolan girl who had lost her leg to a land mine blast. “I’d like to be the queen of people’s hearts,” she told the BBC in that famous interview two years before her death, coining a phrase that lingers to this day. Diana was also an inimitable fashion icon. Camilla is known to feel most comfortable in casual clothes and Wellington boots while enjoying country pursuits, but she has recognized that she is constantly scrutinized, and so looking good for her husband has become a priority. Over the last few years, she seems to have grown in confidence and found her own fashion style. Much is due to couture designer Bruce Oldfield. Speaking to Newsweek about his royal client for the first time, he says: “When she comes for a fitting, I listen to all the niggles about how she perceives her body shape and what she wants to show and not show.

They are the sort of niggles shared by most women of her age. For example, few women want to flash their upper arms after 40. The duchess likes creams and soft blues and greens. Last year, I put her into pale pink, a color she was not used to wearing but one she later told me her husband liked, so I scored there. Sometimes, for very formal occasions, she might say her outfit that has bones is not very comfortable. I reply it is not supposed to be comfortable, it is about making her look gorgeous, and ask her to put up with it, which she usually does.” Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles leave a London theater after a night out in London's West End on February 13, 1975. Derek Hudson/Daily Mail/REX With her growing confidence has come a willingness to use her connections, whether they are political or royal, to help her charities. After leaving Croydon, Camilla and her entourage drove to Nelsons, a British manufacturer of health care products in Wimbledon, also in south London.

But the duchess wasn’t on her way to Wimbledon for the reason many royals make the trip—to watch a match on the lawn courts of the All England Tennis Club. She had the idea of providing female rape victims with a wash bag of comforting toiletries—which she described as a “crumb of comfort.” The women would be given the items following the trauma of post-assault forensic tests at London Havens, specialist centers for people who have been raped or sexually assaulted. Staff at Nelsons had organized a pop-up assembly line. When she was asked if she would she like to help assemble the wash bags, a look of anxiety flashed across her face. “Oh, no,” she said at first, looking vulnerable, then agreed, possibly feeling awkward about performaing a manual task in front of photographers. She fumbled at getting the right product in the correct place in the three interlaced transparent wash bags. “I wouldn’t get 10 out of 10 for them,” she apologized. “I can see it takes a bit of practice.” The duchess knows about practicing. She has been practicing and preparing for years now for the life she will have and for the duties she will take on when Charles becomes king.

Will the British public accept her and love her as they did Diana? Probably not in the same way, no. The duchess will never be, and has never tried to be, a second Diana. Queen or princess consort, Camilla’s sense of fairness, her stability and her obvious warmth toward those less privileged than herself could yet make the British people cherish her as once they cherished her husband’s first wife. Prince Charles, Camilla celebrate 9 years of marriage -- and an improved image - TODAY.com Prince Charles, Camilla celebrate 9 years of marriage -- and an improved image 2014-04-09T13:19:00.000Z comment () ALASTAIR GRANT / Today Almost a decade: Britain's Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, were married on April 9, 2005 at St George's Chapel in Windsor. Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, mark their ninth wedding anniversary on Wednesday, a mere fraction of the how long the royal couple have truly been together.

By now, it’s almost difficult to remember a time when they weren’t a couple — and when Camilla wasn’t reviled as the “third person” in her husband’s first marriage to the beloved Princess Diana. But the admiration and fondness shown over the past nine years between the prince and the woman he refers to as "my darling wife" have helped soften their public image. In the past year alone, the couple's comfort with each other was evident in numerous public appearances together. Last summer, they clearly enjoyed themselves while visiting the set of the British series, "Doctor Who." In Jan., they had some fun pouring themselves beer from a local pub . But perhaps most charming was their Christmas card last year, featuring a photograph that captured one of the many laughs they seem to easily share. While the couple continue to travel widely to support the organizations patronized by Prince Charles, last year marked a milestone for Camilla as she took her first official solo trip abroad to promote various charities in Paris. “Charles and Camilla really complement one another as opposed to one upstaging the other," said royal historian Carolyn Harris, who teaches at the University of Toronto’s School of Continuing Studies.

“One of the issues that arose with Charles and Diana is that when they went on public engagements together, often Diana was seen as upstaging Charles to some degree." John Stillwell / Today Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, in their 2013 Christmas card. Prince Charles, the next in line to the British throne, married the former Camilla Parker Bowles on April 9, 2005, but their relationship dates back more than three decades earlier. Their romance began in 1970 after meeting at a polo match but eventually faltered and collapsed once the prince entered the Royal Navy. The two remained close but ultimately married other people. Prince Charles married Diana in 1981, but has said that once his seemingly fairy tale marriage began to crumble, he resumed his relationship with Camilla. “There were three of us in this marriage,” Diana famously said in an interview about that time. The couple eventually divorced in 1996. The infidelity, among other things, hurt Camilla’s image for many years. It led the prince to keep their romance out of the public’s eye as much as possible.

People targeted Camilla, who was “blamed for all the ills that were associated with the royal family,” said Robert Jobson, author of "The New Royal Family: Prince George, William and Kate, The Next Generation.” “The public perception of the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall has certainly improved with the passage of time,” Jobson said, noting that "Prince Charles's popularity had hit rock bottom" after his divorce and especially after the death of Princess Diana. "But their wedding and the hard work both have put into their royal duty since those dark days has, in my view, transformed their public image," Jobson said. "In the past, talk of Camilla becoming queen consort was dismissed. Even the palace fudged the issue claiming she would become 'princess consort' on Charles's ascension. Now most people believe that, as I always did, that should the moment come she will be accepted as queen consort." What may also have helped significantly change the public's perception about Prince Charles and Camilla has been the couple's embrace by Diana’s two children. “I think William and Harry’s acceptance of Camilla as their father’s second wife has really been key to the public’s acceptance of Camilla.

It’s clear that William and Harry enjoy a good relationship with her,” Harris said, pointing out that one of Camilla’s grandchildren served as a junior bridesmaid at the 2011 royal wedding. “The fact that William and Harry accept her as a key part of their father’s life encourages the public to do the same,” she said. Slideshow Pool / Getty Images Europe Charles and Camilla: A love story Ten years of marital bliss have included meetings with the Dalai Lama, pouring pints of beer at the pub and more adventures. Take a look back at their royal romance. Charles and Camilla: A love story of Charles and Camilla: A love story - Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, have a unique and long love story, starting from when they met on the polo field in 1970. Take a look back at the royals' most memorable moments: President Barack Obama, right center, hosts Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, left center, and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, left, with Vice President Joe Biden, right, for a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on March 19, 2015 in Washington, D.C.

Pool via Getty Images / Pool via Getty Images Charles and Camilla: A love story of Visiting Washington - Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and Prince Charles, Prince of Wales visit the Lincoln Memorial on the second day of a visit to the U.S. on March 18, 2015 in Washington, DC. The Prince and Duchess are in Washington as part of a four day visit. Getty Images / Getty Images Charles and Camilla: A love story of Hola royals - Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall pose in front of a Diego Rivera mural after signing the visitor's book at the launch of 'The Year of the UK in Mexico 2015' at San Ildefonso College on November 3, 2014 in Mexico City, Mexico. The Royal Couple were on the second day of a four day visit to Mexico as part of a Royal tour to Colombia and Mexico. Pool via Getty Images / Pool via Getty Images Charles and Camilla: A love story of The walking dead - Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall visit Real del Monte on the Day of the Dead on November 2, 2014 in Hildago, Mexico.

Getty Images / Getty Images Charles and Camilla: A love story of Rememberance - Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, attend the French-British ceremony at the British War cemetery in Bayeux, on June 6, 2014. Reuters / Reuters Charles and Camilla: A love story of Ride it out - Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla attend Day 2 of Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse on June 18, 2014 in Ascot, England. Getty Images / Getty Images Charles and Camilla: A love story of Looking regal - Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla listen as Queen Elizabeth delivers the Queen's Speech in the House of Lords at the Palace of Westminster in London, on June 4, 2014. Reuters / Reuters Charles and Camilla: A love story of Take a bow - Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, attend a viewing of the Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth's Historic Dockyard on Feb. 26, 2014 in Portsmouth, England.

AFP - Getty Images / AFP - Getty Images Charles and Camilla: A love story of Get your beer here - Prince Charles and Camilla raise a glass of draught beer during a visit to The Bel, al pub in Purleigh, England on Jan. 29, 2014. Pool via AFP - Getty Images / Pool via AFP - Getty Images Charles and Camilla: A love story of Indian birthday tour - Camilla and Charles pose outside the Akshardham Temple during an official visit to India on Nov. 8, 2013 in Delhi, India. This trip was also where Charles celebrated his 65th birthday. Getty Images / Getty Images Charles and Camilla: A love story of Musically talented - The royal couple try their hands at playing along with a local samba band during a visit to the Whitstable Oyster Festival in Whitstable, England on July 29, 2013.

Pool via AFP - Getty Images / Pool via AFP - Getty Images Charles and Camilla: A love story of Charity ball - Charles and Camilla pose with masks as they host a reception for the Elephant Family, a charity working to save the Asian Elephant from extinction in the wild, at Clarence House on July 9, 2013 in London. WPA Pool via Getty Images / WPA Pool via Getty Images Charles and Camilla: A love story of Queen's speech - The pair listen as Queen Elizabeth II delivers her speech during the State Opening of Parliament on May 8, 2013 in London. WPA Pool via Getty Images / WPA Pool via Getty Images Charles and Camilla: A love story of Sword dance - Prince Charles performs a traditional sword dance with local Omanis as Camilla looks on during a visit to Nizwa, Oman on March 18, 2013. The couple toured Jordan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia during this tour. Getty Images / Getty Images Charles and Camilla: A love story of Horse and buggy - Charles and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, travel to Parliament in London, on May 8, 2013, for the State Opening of Parliament.

AFP-Getty Images / AFP-Getty Images Charles and Camilla: A love story of Cuddling koalas - Prince Charles holds a koala called Kao while Camilla holds a koala called Matilda at the Government House on Nov. 7, 2012 in Adelaide, Australia. The couple were in Australia on the second leg of a Diamond Jubilee Tour, taking in Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand. Getty Images / Getty Images Charles and Camilla: A love story of Holy meeting - Charles and Camilla meet with the Dalai Lama at Clarence House in London on June 20, 2012. The exiled Buddhist Tibetan leader was taking part in a week long tour of Britain. AFP - Getty Images / AFP - Getty Images Charles and Camilla: A love story of Royal wedding - Charles and Camilla stand with Charles' son, William, the Duke of Cambridge, and his wife, Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, on their wedding day as they greet well-wishers from the balcony at Buckingham Palace on April 29, 2011 in London.

Getty Images / Getty Images Charles and Camilla: A love story of Dame grand - Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and Prince Charles, Prince of Wales attend the wedding of Ben Elliot and Mary-Clare Winwood at the church of St. Peter and St. Paul, Northleach on Sept. 10, 2011 in Cheltenham, England. The Duchess of Cornwall was made Dame Grand Cross by the Queen, which is an honor of the highest female rank in the Royal Victorian Order. Getty Images / Getty Images Charles and Camilla: A love story of The royals pose for their official Christmas card at their Balmoral Estate in 2010. Clarence House via Getty Images / Clarence House via Getty Images Charles and Camilla: A love story of Happy anniversary - Charles and Camilla, in their role as the Duke and Duchess of Rothesay, arrive at Crathie Churchon in Ballater, Scotland in 2006. The royal couple spent their first wedding anniversary at Birkhall on the Balmoral Estate. Getty Images / Getty Images Charles and Camilla: A love story of Wedding day - Charles and Camilla walk from St.

George's Chapel at Windsor Castle after their civil wedding on April 9, 2005. AP / AP Charles and Camilla: A love story of Here comes the bride - Britain's Prince Charles and his bride Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, leave St. George's Chapel in Windsor, England following the church blessing of their civil wedding ceremony on April 9, 2005. AFP-Getty Images / AFP-Getty Images Charles and Camilla: A love story of Official photo - The official photo of the Prince of Wales and his new bride Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, with their families in the White Drawing Room at Windsor Castle after their wedding ceremony on April 9, 2005 in Windsor, England. Clarence House via Getty Images / Clarence House via Getty Images Charles and Camilla: A love story of Engaged - Camilla Parker Bowles shows off her engagement ring on Feb. 10, 2005 as she and Prince Charles arrive for a party at Windsor Castle after announcing their engagement earlier.

AFP-Getty Images / AFP-Getty Images Charles and Camilla: A love story of Wedding announcement - Prince Charles stands with Camilla Parker Bowles at Birkhall, in Scotland, prior to them leaving for a Sunday church service in 2005. Clarence House via AP / Clarence House via AP Charles and Camilla: A love story of First public outing - When Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles left London's Ritz Hotel in 1995 after the 50th birthday party for Camilla's sister, it was their first appearance together in public. It drew massive media attention and was a carefully arranged move to indicate the seriousness of the partnership. Pool via Getty Images / Pool via Getty Images Charles and Camilla: A love story of Marriages and divorces - Charles, Prince of Wales, kisses the hand of his bride, Lady Diana, on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after their wedding in St. Paul's Cathedral in 1981. Diana and Charles announced a separation in 1992, though they continued to carry out their royal duties. In August 1996, two months after Queen Elizabeth II urged the couple to divorce, the prince and princess reached a final agreement.

Camilla Shand and Captain Andrew Parker Bowles outside the Guards' Chapel on their wedding day in 1973. They divorced in 1995 after 21 years together. AFP-Getty Images / AFP-Getty Images Charles and Camilla: A love story of Three is a crowd - During a 1995 television interview with BBC's Panorama, Princess Diana said she had known her husband had renewed a relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles. "There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded," Diana said. In 1997, Diana was killed in a car crash. Her death was mourned around the world. AP / AP Charles and Camilla: A love story of Just friends - Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles at an event in 1979. Camilla and Charles dated, but reports say their romance ended in 1971 when Charles joined the Royal Navy. Getty Images / Getty Images Charles and Camilla: A love story of Prince Charles, then 26, chats to Camilla Parker Bowles, his future wife, at a polo match in July 1975.

He first met her four years earlier at a polo match at Windsor. They shared many interests, including a love of horses, polo and country pursuits. Camilla had married the cavalry officer Andrew Parker Bowles in 1973. Rex USA / Rex USA Prince Charles and Camilla mark a decade of marriage with photo at Birkhall | Daily Mail Online comments Chatting happily and smiling during a peaceful walk in the grounds of their Scottish country home, they could be any long-married couple enjoying a stroll. But this is the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall and the intimate shot marks not 40 years of marriage but 10. The couple, who married a decade ago at the Windsor Guildhall, are spending their anniversary privately at Birkhall in Deeside. Scroll down for video Portrait of a happy marriage: Charles and Camilla in the new photo released to mark their 10th anniversary Big day: The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall on their wedding day a decade ago Birkhall, which sits on the Queen's Balmoral estate, was the location for their honeymoon and was also the venue for their first anniversary celebrations.

The new image, which is the work of top photographer Oliver Dann, was taken in the run-up to last month's visit to the U.S but was released by Clarence House today. In it, Charles wears a country coat made from Inveravon Estate Tweed and a matching hat by Lock & Co, while Camilla sports a hat by the same firm and a coat by Moncler. Charles and Camilla finally married following a relationship spanning 35 years in a relatively quiet civil ceremony at the Windsor Guildhall on the 9th April 2005. Despite fears that the couple would be booed - Camilla was reportedly so nervous that she had to be dragged out of bed - the ceremony went off without a hitch. Since then, the Duchess of Cornwall as she is now known, has become an integral part of the Royal Family - and would be cheerfully accepted as Charles' queen by 50 per cent of Britons. That marks a significant turnaround from the Duchess' earliest days as a royal, with Camilla following Charles' lead and often appearing nervous in front of photographers.

But her enthusiastic championing of causes ranging from osteoporosis to sexual abuse survivors has not gone unnoticed and her relationship with the Queen is now said to be close. 'Her role has changed dramatically,' explains royal biographer Penny Junor. 'One minute she was a mistress and then she was an HRH. RELATED ARTICLES Share 149 shares 'When she first married Charles she was very nervous. On her wedding day, she was terrified. She had no idea if she would be booed in the street. 'In fact, there was a very warm reception. The streets were packed in Windsor. She has slowly gained courage and confidence. Initially she was very much in the background, supporting the Prince and she still does that. 'She's never had any ambition for herself. She didn't want to be a princess or a duchess. She just happened to love a man who was the Prince of Wales and look at the fuss that caused. She doesn't want to be a star or be curtseyed to. Happy: The pair are all smiles as they arrive at the British ambassador's residence in Washington last month Cheers!

Charles and Camilla pictured enjoying a dram during a visit to Birkhall last summer 'But slowly, slowly she has become much more involved in royal life and taken on an awful lot of charitable causes.' The Duchess is now patron or president of 85 charities, joint patron or president with the Prince of four, and is affiliated to a number of other organisations. Ms Junor added: 'It's really, really valued by those charities. She works extremely hard. Having been a woman who up to her mid-50s had been a wife and a mother and a country woman who enjoyed horses and dogs, she's completely reinvented herself and become an ambassador for the country.' In 2013, Camilla made her first ever appearance at the State Opening of Parliament wearing a glamorous champagne silk and lace Bruce Oldfield gown. The Duchess, whose presence was seen as a boost for Charles, topped that with the Queen Mother's priceless Boucheron tiara and the Dame Grand Cross of the Victoria Order sash. She returned for the 2014 state opening as well and is expected to return once again for this year's event.

Close: Prince William and the Duchess of Cornwall share a joke during last September's Invictus Games Support: The Queen shares a carriage with Camilla during the Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2012 One is amused: Camilla laughs with Prince Harry and the Duchess of Cornwall during the Diamond Jubilee Similarly styled: The Duchess' dress sense has also evolved over the last 10 years and is much like her daughter-in-law's The Duchess has also carried out joint engagements with the Queen and in November hosted a reception on behalf of the monarch for the Commonwealth Essay competition. During the Diamond Jubilee in 2012, the Queen and Camilla sat side-by-side in the ornate 1902 state landau - a step that would have been inconceivable a decade earlier. The Duke of Edinburgh had fallen ill and the Prince of Wales and Camilla stepped in to ride with the monarch in the carriage procession back to Buckingham Palace. But it was Camilla, not Charles who was seated next to the Jubilee Queen. She was present too on stage, standing next to the sovereign, as Charles paid tribute to his mother at the finale of a pop concert in front of the Palace.

During the Golden Jubilee concert in 2002, prior to her marriage to the Prince, Camilla was seated several rows behind Charles. On Charles and Camilla's seventh wedding anniversary in 2012, the Queen made the Duchess a Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO) - a personal seal of approval from the monarch. 'I don't think that the Queen has ever had any personal animosity to Camilla. In the Eighties and Nineties when Charles and Diana were at each other's throats, Camilla was seen to be the cause and it threatened to destabilise the monarchy,' says Ms Junor. 'The Queen has always been fond of Camilla. She knew her for years and years, long before she was involved in the break up of the marriage.' She added: 'The Queen reacts to public opinion. Once the public were going to accept Camilla, the Queen was able to accept her publicly. 'They've got a great deal in common. They're mad about horses, dogs. They're country women.' When Camilla married Charles, aides insisted she did not want to be known as queen when the Prince acceded to the throne but intended to be known as princess consort instead.

But according to some legal experts, unless there is change in the law, Camilla will technically become queen when Charles is king - no matter what she decides to call herself. At the time of her engagement to the Prince in 2005, a poll showed that only seven per cent of people believed Camilla should one day be queen. Happily married: Charles has cut an increasingly relaxed figure since his marriage Close: The Duchess has always known how to make Charles laugh and he 'adores her' in return Royal duties: With half of Britons supporting the idea, it is increasingly likely that Camilla will become queen A decade later, half of all Britons say she should become queen when Charles takes the throne according to a poll by YouGov. A third think she should be given a lesser title out of sensitivity to Diana, Princess of Wales and 16 per cent were unsure. When the Prince was put on the spot and asked if Camilla would be his queen in an interview in November 2010, he replied: 'That's, that's, we'll see, won't we?

That could be.' 'I think there's still a hard core of people out there who want nothing to do with Camilla and think she's the devil incarnate but the vast majority think she's a good thing,' adds Ms Junor. 'She is familiar now as any member of the Royal Family. She's a fixture. It would be very strange if she were not called queen. 'I think she will be embraced and think the public will have no problem with it whatsoever. Charles is hugely proud of her and she's so important to him. 'He adores her. He wants her by his side - that's an absolute given.' THE LIFE AND TIMES OF CAMILLA, DUCHESS OF CORNWALL Born Camilla Rosemary Shand on the 17th July 1947, the Duchess of Cornwall's 67 years have undoubtedly been interesting ones. The daughter of Major Bruce Middleton Hope Shand and his wife Rosalind, the Duchess was born in London but spent much of her childhood in Sussex along with her siblings, Annabel and Mark. According to her biographer Giles Brandreth, her upbringing, although not royal, was certainly a grand one.

'Camilla is often described as having had an "Enid Blyton sort of Childhood",' he writes. 'In fact, it was much grander than that. 'The Shands had position and they had help – help in the house, help in the garden, help with children. 'They were gentry. They opened their garden for the local Conservative Party Association summer fête. Enough said.' After a stint at a Swiss finishing school, Camilla burst onto the London social scene as a debutante on the 25th March 1965. But it wasn't all fun, with the future Duchess of Cornwall working as a secretary for a succession of London firms to pay for her Belgravia flat, which she shared with Lady Moyra Campbell. In the late 1960s, Camilla met the man who was to become her first husband, cavalry officer Andrew Parker-Bowles, with the couple dating off and on for several years - with Mr Parker-Bowles striking up a relationship with Princess Anne at one point. Camilla, meanwhile, had struck up a relationship with Prince Charles, who was first introduced to her sometime in 1971.

When the couple split following an overseas posting for Charles in 1973, Camilla reconciled with Parker-Bowles and the couple announced their engagement and married the same year. Two children followed. Tom in 1974 and Laura in 1978. But it was her continuing relationship with Prince Charles that would come to define her, with the former couple remaining close friends even after both had married other people. In 1992, claims that the two had remained an item throughout both marriages emerged when Diana: Her True Story was published, followed, a year later by the 'Camillagate' scandal. By 1995, both marriages had come to an end and Charles and Camilla were unofficially back together, with the future Duchess often seen attending events with the prince. Royal acceptance soon followed with the Queen making Camilla part of the Golden Jubilee celebrations in 2002. A year later, the Duchess moved into Clarence House and on the 10th February 2005, Charles and Camilla's engagement was announced. The couple married just under two months later in Windsor, with Camilla taking the title of the Duchess of Cornwall.

Question: What is the official title of Camilla now that she has married Prince Charles?
Answer: Duchess of Cornwall